Vince Young files for bankruptcy

Eight years ago, Vince Young was, in the words of one headline writer, inVINCEable.

Today, he’s bankrupt.

Young, 30, the former University of Texas and NFL quarterback and favorite son of Houston’s Hiram Clarke neighborhood, has filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the wake of a series of on- and off-field setbacks that have reduced him, for the moment, from NFL star-in-the-making to cautionary tale on the expense of excess.

“If you wanted to write a manual about how to go into bankruptcy, Vince’s story would be it,” said Ed Butowsky, a Dallas financial adviser who contributed to an ESPN Films documentary about the money woes of pro athletes. “It’s a classic example of all the things that can go wrong.”

The Chapter 11 petition, filed late last week, estimates Young’s assets between $500,001 and $1 million and liabilities between $1,001,000 and $10 million. A 2013 financial statement listed assets of Young and his wife, Candice, at $1.8 million and liabilities at $2.5 million, but an updated, detailed report has yet to be filed with the bankruptcy court.

Young, who according to the Associated Press was paid $34 million in six NFL seasons, has not appeared in a regular-season game since 2011 and was cut by the last two teams that signed him. He has spent the last two years embroiled in a pair of lawsuits stemming from a $1.8 million loan obtained in his name during the 2011 lockout that attorneys say may have been the factor that tipped him into bankruptcy.

A New York state court has granted a judgment against Young to Pro Player Funding, a New York company that made the loan, which along with interest has grown to more than $2.5 million. Young subsequently sued a group that included his former financial adviser, Ronnie Peoples of Raleigh, N.C., and former agent, Major Adams II of Houston, saying they conspired to obtain the Pro Player loan and that Young never received the money.

Lawyers in December said a settlement had been reached in the Peoples case, but that agreement has not been finalized.

Young was not immediately available for comment on the bankruptcy filing, and his attorney, Brian Kilmer, declined comment.

Young has for the last decade been one of Houston’s most visible names: high school star at Madison, All-America quarterback at Texas and star of the Longhorns’ 2005 national championship team, first-round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans who in his return to Houston in 2006 led the Titans to an overtime win over the Texans.

But he also is symbolic of an unfortunate, ongoing trend involving pro athletes. According to a study cited by Sports Illustrated in 2009, 78 percent of former NFL players are bankrupt or undergoing several financial stressors within two years of retirement from football, and 60 percent of former NBA players are bankrupt within five years of retirement.

“(Young) invested in private, illiquid investments, and he overspent,” Butowsky said. “He’s ultimately responsible for all his decisions, but the people around him should have taken better care of him.

“You should never equate trust with capability. My wife trusts me, but she’s not going to let me do her dental work.”

Former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury, who co-hosts a sports talk show on KGOW (1560 AM) and the Houston-based Yahoo! Sports radio network, said Young’s tale is a familiar one.

“When you’re making money, you think it’s going to last forever,” Salisbury said. “This doesn’t make him a bad person. It makes him a person who was misled, who expected the money would last longer and who probably made some bad decisions along the way.”

Salisbury last year appeared in the ESPN Films documentary “Broke” and described running up monthly American Express bills of more than $100,000 during his NFL career.

“It happens. You take your lumps and learn from it,” he said. “I’ve had to sleep in my truck (because of money woes) I get it. I feel awful for him and anyone who goes through this.”

After leading Texas to a 41-38 win over USC in January 2006, winning Texas’ first national championship since 1970, Young was selected with the third pick of the NFL Draft by the Titans, the former Houston Oilers.

He was 8-5 as a rookie starter, including a 26-20 win over the Texans at Reliant Stadium that was decided by his 39-yard touchdown run in overtime, and was selected to the Pro Bowl. Two years later, he was replaced as the Titans’ starter after suffering a knee injury. It was then Young was involved in a highly publicized incident when the Titans called police for help in locating Young because he didn’t answer his phone and his therapist had said he mentioned suicide in conversations. Young was a friend’s house without his cell phone, and both he and the Titans said the incident was overblown.

Young regained his starting job in 2009, when he was selected to the Pro Bowl a second time, but was released following the 2010 season after a disagreement with Titans coach Jeff Fisher. He was a backup with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011 but was released at the end of the season, and he was released during the 2012 and 2013 preseasons by the Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers, respectively.

His current legal entanglements began in 2011, when a $1.9 million loan at 20 percent interest was obtained in his name during 2011 NFL lockout. Pro Player Funding filed suit in New York to force repayment of the loan, and a judgment was granted in the company’s behalf.

Pro Player has made several unsuccessful attempts to seek a court order requiring seizure of Young’s assets to repay the loan. Young’s attorneys opposed those efforts while they were engaged in their lawsuit with Adams and Peoples, who they say defrauded Young by obtaining the loan without giving him access to the money.

Sean Bellew, an attorney representing Pro Player Funding, said the Chapter 11 filing was a “positive development.”

“(Young) understands that he owes the money, and this becomes a business issue and not a fabricated litigation issue,” Bellew said. “We’ve been assured by his bankruptcy counsel that Vince understands the gravity of what he is up against and that he will take a professional and businesslike approach to getting us paid under the auspices of the bankruptcy court.”

Trey Dolezal, the Austin attorney representing Young in the civil cases, said the bankruptcy filing stemmed from the inability to reach a final settlement in his case against Peoples, his former adviser.

“Vince will continue to fight through this, and hopefully at some point (Peoples) will perform, and Vince can break out of bankruptcy and be fine,” Dolezal said.

Documents filed in the Peoples case include a financial statement as of July 2013 that listed Young and his wife with assets that included his Houston home, five cars, NFL annuity and 401(k) funds and jewelry valued at about $200,000. The Pro Player Funding judgment and a mortgage on his home accounted for the bulk of his liabilities.

The case has been assigned to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones and a meeting of Young’s creditors set for Feb. 25.